Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) Receives $45.20 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the four analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.20.

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Northwest Natural in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock.

Northwest Natural Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:NWN opened at $35.86 on Monday. Northwest Natural has a 12 month low of $34.95 and a 12 month high of $48.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by ($0.10). Northwest Natural had a return on equity of 7.52% and a net margin of 7.84%. The company had revenue of $355.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Northwest Natural will post 2.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.488 dividend. This represents a $1.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Northwest Natural’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NWN. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northwest Natural in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $93,000. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 686.5% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 15,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $613,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $437,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,350,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $169,404,000 after acquiring an additional 65,443 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

About Northwest Natural

Northwest Natural Holding Company, through its subsidiary, Northwest Natural Gas Company, provides regulated natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the United States. The company operates a mist gas storage facility contracted to other utilities, third-party marketers, and electric generators; offers natural gas asset management services; and operates an appliance retail center.